For decades, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park has shaped the lives of those who know it deeply—and few know it more intimately than longtime Park stewards Fred and LLouise Jee. In this Member Spotlight, we’re honored to share reflections from a pair whose connection to the desert began in the 1970s and has only deepened with time. From patrolling the wild landscapes of Fish Creek to marveling at starlit skies that cast shadows, their stories embody a lifelong commitment to this extraordinary place. Get to know Fred and LLouise—two passionate voices for preservation, beauty, and belonging in Anza-Borrego.
What is your favorite location in the Park?
Fred: Fish Creek is still my favorite location in the Park. Patrolling and living there for three years and then using it as a backdrop for programs or just showing off the Park in one area continues to be a reason to visit and enjoy that part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
LLouise: All 650,000 acres!
What is your favorite season in the Park and why?
Fred: The best season in the Park is springtime when temperatures are nice, and one can visit with many folks coming here for the first or numerous times.
LLouise: All of them- the heat, wind, snow, rain, flowers, silence, dark skies and sparkling stars with milky way drifting past. walking in starlight bright enough to cast a shadow.
Tell us about your first experience in the Park.
Fred: My first experience in the park was Sept 10, 1975. I was assigned to this place where I didn’t even know existed by the California Park System. I viewed the Borrego valley from Crawford Overlook on that afternoon thinking OMG.
If you could be any desert animal or plant, what would it be and why?
Fred: Roadrunner would be choice animal. It is fearless, agile, and can fly.
LLouise: I’d be a palm tree in a grove with skirts down to the floor, a fantastic housing complex.
How long have you been visiting the Park?
Fred: I have been in this Park since Sept 10, 1975….50 years?
LLouise: How long? I visited April 1976. Lived in it starting August 1977 in Fish Creek, as an outpost ranger’s wife.
What’s your number one reason for supporting ABF?
Fred: I support ABF because it truly supports the Park where I spent most of my life professionally and personally.
LLouise: It’s a challenge to preserve & protect an amazing space that has amazing resources- tranquility, but endangered by swiss-cheese land ownership, and the thought that a ‘park’ is a geographic space that can be reserved & set aside for better use later when “WE” need it. A common definition of desert = waste land [worthless] unless you get to use it for something ‘better’.
Fred and LLouise remind us that the Park is a living, breathing part of their story, and of ours. Their decades of experience, advocacy, and love for Anza-Borrego speak to what makes this place so special, and why it’s worth protecting for generations to come.
If you’re interested in being featured in an upcoming eConnection, please reach out to Communications & Marketing Director Jaime Purinton at jaime@theabf.org.